Refrigerating apparatus having adjustable partitions



L. A. PHILIPP June13, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 22, 1947 2 e P 2 2 2% 427 444/ k M 4 P W m i C. m w W m, 7 n H Y B N/ 0 Mm N O w 6 5 V June 13, 1950 L. A. PHILIPP 2,511,125

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS HAVING ADJUSTABLE PARTITIONS Filed Sept. 22, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 nvmvrox. Zak/26m fi- PHIL/PP Patented June 13, 1950 REFRIGERATING APPARATUS HAVING ADJUSTABLE PARTITION Lawrence A. Philipp, Detroit, Mich, assignor to Nash-Kelvinator Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Maryland Application September 22, 1947, Serial No. 775,505

6 Claims.

This invention relates generally to refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to household refrigerators.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having an improved arrangewalls of the cabinet into the interior thereof. ment to control air circulation between cabinet A single door 28 may be provided to close the, compartments of different temperatures. front of the cabinet and, as shown, may extend Another object of the invention is to provide substantially from the top to the bottom of the an improved arrangement for controlling humidc eth door 8 may e hung o the a et ity in a refrigerator cabinet to avoid condensay ges 30 which may be secured to one of the tion on the inner storage compartment surfaces i es of the cabinet. f the abin t The cabinet 20 has a freezing compartment 32,

Another object of the invention is to provide a food storage compartment 34 and a fresh vegein a refrigerator having a freezing compartment table compartment 36- In e present a eand a food storage compartment, an improved ment of the compartments, the freezing compartarrangement for controlling rate of freezing out, ment d the fresh vegetable pa t in the freezing compartment, of moisture in the 36 are located respectively at the top and bottom air of the storage compartment so as to control of the cabinet and the food storage compartment the humidity of the latter. 34 is located therebetween. The cabinet to also Another object of the invention is to provide preferably a a ch y c p ent e. an improved refrigerator of the above mentioned leeeted immediately behind the high humidity character which is inexpensive to manufacture. comp 35 a he back o the cabinet.

Further objects and advantages of the present y u a le refrigerating System y be used invention will be apparent from the following o e t desired temperatures in the p description, reference being had to the accommeIltS 3 3 a d Th System Sh clu es panying drawings, wherein a preferred form of a relatively low temperature cooling element or the present invention is clearly shown. refrigerant evaporator 42, a relatively high tem- In th drawings; perature cooling element or evaporator 43 and a Fig. l is a front view, partly broken away and refrigera 0 g elem e ain section, of a refrigerator cabinet embodying tively low temperature evaporator 42 is arranged features of the present in ention; to absorb heat principally from the freezing com- Fig. 2 is a vertical, sectional view of the refrigpertine t 32 and the el i ly i h temperature erator, t ken along t i 2-4 of i 1; refrigerant evaporator 43 is arranged to absorb Fig. 3 is a horizontal, sectional view of the heat P p y from the storage comp refrigerator, taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2; 35 34 and from the fresh vegetable compartment 36 Fig, 4 is a fragmentary, sectional vi f the The temperature differential between these evaprefrigerator taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; meters 3, will, of course, induce gra y Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing parts culation of air between the compartments; the thereof in different adjusted positions which they air flowing down the back wall of the liner 24 may assume; 40 up the front of the cabinet, adjacent the door Fig. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional 28 and over and around the relatively low temview of the refrigerator and a humidity control perature or freezing evaporator 42. The evapoadjustment device therefor; rators 42 and 43 as shown, are connected together Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 with parts in series, but if desired, primary and secondary shown in different adjusted positions; systems may be employed. The condensing ele- Fig. 8 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional ment 44 includes a motor-compressor unit 45 and view of the refrigerator, taken along the line 8-8 a condenser 46. Refrigerant is supplied from the of and condenser 46 through a flow control or capillary 9 is a e amma ic l v w of a r frigertube 46' to the relatively high temperature evapeting y m f he pr s nt r fri erator. 5o orator 43 from which the refrigerant flows into In the drawings, there is shown a refrigerator of the household type having a cabinet, designated generally by the numeral 20. The cabinet 20 comprises, in general, a casing22 and a liner of sheet material which may be steel or any other suitable material. Insulation 26 is preferably provided between the casing 22 and the liner 24 to decrease the rate of heat leakage through the the relatively low temperature evaporator 42 through a flow. restricting or capillary tube 41 which maintains a desired pressure differential and therefore temperature differential between 24. The casing 22 and the liner 24 may be made the evaporators. Gaseous refrigerant is withdrawn from the evaporator 42 by the motorcompressor unit 43 to be compressed and returned to the condenser 43.

The freezing compartment evaporator 42 may be of the so-called L-shaped type or sheet metal construction, formed to provide refrigerant passages 43 and a refrigerant accumulator 43. The evaporator 42 may be suspended from the cabinet top wall by brackets 33 or by any other suitable means. As shown, the L-shaped evaporator 43 forms the bottom and rear walls of a box-like frozen food and ice tray container which preferably includes a sheet metal top 3| and sheet metal sides 52. On the sheet metal top ii, a length of refrigerant evaporator coil in sinuous form may be used to absorb heat; the coil being connected to the outlet of the flow restricting tube 41' and to the inlet of evaporator 42. The size of the frozen food and ice tray container is made such that it occupies substantially the entire freezing compartment 32; a space being provided between the opposed corresponding top, side and rear wall surfaces of the container and of the cabinet liner 24 for restricted circulation of air over and around the container. An inner door 33 is provided to close the front of the frozen food and ice container to prevent room air from freely entering the container when the outer cabinet door 28 is opened.

In the food storage compartment 34, a number of vertically spaced shelves 33 is provided. The shelves 33 are made of an impervious material, preferably glass, to baiile air circulation and are arranged with their front and rear edges in spaced relation respectively to the cabinet door and to the cabinet rear wall inner surface to allow for restricted air circulation between compartments. Supports 32 of any suitable character may be attached to the cabinet opposite side walls to support the shelves 63. Spaced below the lowermost shelf 33 is a horizontal partition-shelf 34. common to the food storage compartment 34 and to the fresh vegetable compartment 33.

The relatively high temperature evaporator 43, preferably in the form of a sinuous coil, may be attached to the outer surface of the liner 24, extending along the rear wall of the food storage compartment 34 and of the fresh vegetable compartment 33. This evaporator coil 43 extends along a lower partition 35 of the rear cabinet wall which is common to or separates the fresh vegetable compartment 33 from the machinery compartment 43. The partition 35 may be inclined, extending from the cabinet rear wall forwardly and downwardly to the cabinet bottom wall, as shown.

In order to prevent condensation occurring on the inner surface of the cabinet liner 24, I provide a movably adjustable partition or baffle-like damper 33 which I arrange to control or to regulate the rate of air circulation between the cabinet compartments 32, 34 and 33 and consequently regulate the rate of freezing out of air entrained moisture on the low temperature evaporator 42. The bailie 33 is common to or separates the freezing compartment 32 from the food storage compartment 34. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the baffle 33 is disposed immediately beneath and adjace t to the underside of the evaporator 42, bu is spaced therefrom to allow restricted circulation of air around the low temperature evaporate 42. The bailie 33 is preferably supported on a ir of individually, tiitable rails 33 which extend between the door 23 and the cabinet rear wall, respectively along the opposite, inner wall surfaces of the cabinet liner 24. Preferably, the baille supporting rails 33 are made of a low heat conducting material, such as phenolic plastic. Adjacent their forward ends, the baffle supporting rails 33 are individually pivoted to the cabinet liner sides on pivot members 13 which are attached to the cabinet liner 24 preferably by selfthreading, sheet metal screws 12. In the present construction, the rail pivot members 13 are tubular, open ended spacers through which the screws 12 extend to screwthread into apertured plates 13 which may be welded or be otherwise suitably secured to the outer surface of the sides of the baiile supporting rails 33. Spring lock washers 14 may be provided to aid in frictionally clamping the parts together. Between the inner surface of the cabinet liner 24 and the adjacent ends of the tubular pivot members 13, spacers 13 are preferably provided; the spacers l3 and the liner 24 having clearance apertures freely receiving the screws I2.

The free or rear ends of the baffle supporting rails 33 rest respectively on outer peripheral surfaces of individually operable adjustment mem-- bers or eccentrics 33. These eccentrics 33 are respectively mounted on the opposite side walls of the liner 24, adjacent the rear wall thereof. Each of the eccentrics 33 may be mounted on the liner 24 by a sheet metal screw 32, and a threaded sheet metal plate 33. The plate 33 may be welded or may be otherwise suitably secured to the rear surface of the liner 24. Each of the eccentrics 33 may be provided with an integral operating knob 34 having a bore therethrough to receive an open ended, tubular Spacer 35 which in turn receives the screw 32. Interposed between each of the baiiie supporting rails 33 and the opposed, inner surfaces of the cabinet liner 24 is a spacer or washer 33 having an enlarged clearance aperture receiving the screws 32. An elongated aperture or slot 33 in each of the baffle supporting rails 33 respectively receives the screws 32, providing for tilting adjustment movement of the rails relative to the screws. Between the opposed faces of the eccentrics 33 and rails 33, lock or spring washers 33 may be provided to aid frictionally in holding the eccentrics 33 in desired tilted position. At the end of each of the rails 33, a lug 33 formed thereon may be provided to serve as a stop, limiting upward pivoted movement of the rails 33. A second lug 32 on each of the rails 63 below the eccentrics 33 is engaged thereby to tilt the rails downwardly when the eccentrics are rotated in one direction. Above the baffle 33, a fixed air bafl'le member 33 is provided which cooperates with the rear edge of the tiitable baflle 33 to control air circulation in the cabinet. The fixed baille member 33 may be of angle cross section having one leg secured flat against and to the liner and having its other leg projecting horizontally from the liner toward the baflle 36. When the eccentrics 33 are against the stops 33, the baffle 63 will have been tilted by the eccentrics 83 to the position shown in Fig. 4 moving the rear edge of the bailie 33 closer to the fixed baffle member 33, thus decreasing air circulation between the freezing compartment 32 and compartments 34 and 33. By turning the eccentrics 33 counterclockwise, facing Fig. 4, the baffle 33 will be tilted downwardly, increasing the flow capacity between the rear edge of the baffle and the adjacent, fixed baille member 33. This will increase the rate of air circulation in the cabinet with corresponding increase in the rate of freezing out of moisture on the relatively low temperature evaporator 42 with the result that the humidity of the circulating air will be decreased.

The adjustable baflle 66, disposed immediately below the evaporator 42 is made so as to serve also as a drip receiver, during periods of defrosting of the refrigeratingsystem. This bailie 66 may comprise an upper pan 34 and a lower pan 96. These pans 94, 96 are spaced apart to receive heat insulation 98 to decrease heat transfer by conduction, between the freezing and food storage compartments. Outer marginal portions or flanges Hill of the baffle 66 may be cemented or be otherwise suitably secured together around the outer peripheries thereof. Adjacent the rear edge of the baille upper pan 94, a depression I02 directs water to flow from the baille down onto a projection I04 of the rear wall liner. The water runs down the liner 24 into a channel I06 secured thereto and into a drip receiver or pan 18 which is carried by a bin door which closes a lower portion of the front of compartment 36. Above the bin in compartment 36, a pair of laterally spaced vegetable containers or drawers H2 may be provided and supported on rails adjacent the underside of the shelf-partition 64.

From the foregoing description, it will be noted that I have provided an improved arrangement within a refrigerator cabinet to control humidity of the air therein by controlling the rate of freezing out of air entrained moisture on a freezing temperature evaporator. In addition it will be noted that I have accomplished the above by utilizing and adapting a drip pan for the control member which may be readily tilted to regulate air circulation and correspondingly regulate humidity in the compartments of the refrigerator.

Although only a preferred form of the invention has been illustrated, and that form described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

.I claim:

1. In a refrigerating apparatus, a cabinet, a

partition extending substantially to the inner wall surface or said cabinet, said partition and inner means for holding said partition in adjusted position.

2. In a refrigerating apparatus, a cabinet, a go refrigerant evaporator in said cabinet, a drip pan within said cabinet below said refrigerant evaporator, a pair of rails supporting said drip pan and pivoted adjacent corresponding ends to said cabinet, a freezing compartment above said drip pan, -a relatively high humidity compartment below said drip pan. said evaporator inducing gravity circulation of air between said compartments controlled by the position of said dri pan,

and adjustment means holding said pivoted rails 70 1,899,852

in adjusted position.

a. In a refrigerating apparatus. a cabinet liner.

a partition within the space defined by said liner and being pivoted for adjustment about a substantially horizontal axis, said partition cooperating with said liner to form a freezing element chamber on one side of the partition and a food storage compartment on the other side of said partition, said partition also being arranged with an edge thereof spaced from the inner surface of said liner allowing circulation of air between said compartments, and adjustment means operable to pivot said partition to change the spacing of said partition edge from said liner and correspondingly change the rate of air circulation between said compartments.

4. In a refrigerating apparatus, a cabinet liner, a partition within the space defined by said liner and being pivoted for adjustment about a substantially horizontal axis, said partition cooperating with said liner to form a freezing element chamber on one side of the partition and a food storage compartment on the other side of said partition, said partition also being arranged with an edge thereof spaced from the inner surface of said liner allowing circulation of air between said compartments, and cam means adjustably supporting said pivoted partition operable to vary the spacing between said partition edge and said liner.

5. In a refrigerating apparatus, a refrigerator cabinet liner, a pair of oppositely disposed supporting rails pivoted respectively to opposite sides of said cabinet liner, a drip pan supported on said rails forming a common wall between a freezing compartment on one side thereof and a food storage compartment on the other side thereof, said drip pan being spaced from said cabinet liner for predetermined circulation of air between said compartment and being tiltable by said rails to vary the rate of air circulation between said compartments, and adjustment means mounted on the sides of said liner operable to pivot said supporting rails.

6. In a refrigerating apparatus, a refrigerator cabinet liner, a pair of heat insulating supporting rails pivoted to and disposed within the space defined by said liner, a removable drip pan unattachedly supported by said rails within the space defined by said liner, said drip pan forming the bottom and top walls respectively of an upper freezing compartment and a lower cooling compartment, means on said pan and on said rails restraining relative movement therebetween and positioning said pan so that an edge thereof is spaced from said liner to allow predetermined circulation of air between said compartments, and adjustment means operable to pivot said rails and change the spacing of said pan edge and said liner for correspondingly changing the rate of air circulation between said compartments.

LAWRENCE A. PHILIPP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 222,473 Dreusike Dec. 9, 1879 1,574,008 Schwind Feb. 23, 1926 Chadwick Feb. 28, 1933 2,375,359 Hedlund May 8, 1945 2,433,188 Kalischer Dec. 23, 1947 

